My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 333 Are you afraid of us?
Liaodong City.

Inside the official residence in the very center of the city, the generals gathered together, holding wine cups, creating a lively atmosphere.

Yuwen Shu sat in the seat of honor, his face full of joy.

Yuwen Shu's plan was a great success. He pretended to withdraw his troops and neglected the Goryeo people. Because of their previous experience, the Goryeo people were confident and began to fortify their city. They even dared to set up barricades outside, not afraid that the enemy would suddenly attack.

The fact that the Koreans could be so arrogant shows that the sage must have done a great service.

Every time a Goryeo envoy appeared, the hundreds of thousands of troops could only watch helplessly as the Goryeo people acted recklessly, unable to take any action. The Goryeo people began to laugh at the incompetence of the Sui army, thinking that they were just more numerous and nothing to be afraid of.

Therefore, Yuwen Shu made good use of the enemy's mentality. When the enemy thought he would not dare to send troops, he suddenly attacked and surrounded the enemy on three sides, leaving only one side open.

The Goryeo people were terrified, but they were already on the verge of collapse. They had sent envoys because they were about to be overwhelmed. Moreover, they were now under attack. In less than two hours, the Sui army had already completed the first assault, and the Goryeo people fled in panic from the side left by the enemy.

Enraged soldiers stormed into the city, and Yuwen Shu did not stop them, allowing them to wreak havoc.

Eulji Mundeok, however, had already escaped.

Yuwen Shu didn't care that much about the guy. That's how it is when you surround a city from three sides. After all, the goal is to break through the city, not to annihilate it.

After the city fell, he searched several times and confirmed that its commander had escaped, but he only felt a little regretful.

The generals were overjoyed by this great victory.

The previous period was too frustrating for the generals. Despite their formidable strength and ability to defeat the enemy, their casualties and morale plummeted due to their king's constant indecisiveness.

They've finally made a triumphant return, and everyone from the generals to the lowest-ranking soldiers is overjoyed.

Li Xuanba, who was the first to attack the envoy and the first to scale the city walls and defeat the rebels, also became the protagonist of the banquet.

Despite his status as a general, he sat directly in the first seat to Yuwen Shu's left.

He was originally supposed to sit at the back, but several generals led him directly to the front and made him sit next to Yuwen Shu.

Sitting opposite Li Xuanba was General Yu Zhongwen.
Li Xuanba remained taciturn, but he was not arrogant in the face of the generals who showed him kindness. He bowed his head in return and listened attentively when others spoke. The generals grew to like him even more.

Yang Xuanzong and Qin Qiong stood behind him, their faces solemn.

“Everyone!!”

Yuwen Shu raised his wine cup and said happily, "We have besieged Liaodong City for a long time, and now we have finally breached the city! A great victory!"

"This victory was achieved thanks to the bravery and valor of our generals! I raise a toast to you all!!"

The generals rose and drank with Yuwen Shu.

Yuwen Shu put down his wine cup, his smile fading slightly. He looked at everyone and slowly said, "Although we have breached the city this time, we have disobeyed the imperial edict and launched an attack without waiting for the emperor's order."

"Your Majesty has many despicable people around you who flatter and belittle others to gain personal benefits."

"If Your Majesty intends to punish me, I will bear all the blame. Whether Your Majesty dismisses me or arrests me, I will have no complaints. My unauthorized military action was for the sake of everyone, and was by no means intended to be disrespectful to the Emperor."

"I can accept whatever His Majesty decides. You all don't need to suffer with me; just pretend you know nothing."

Upon hearing Yuwen Shu's words, the generals were all indignant.

"Duke! The decision to send troops was made by everyone; how can we let you take the blame alone?"

"Yes! If His Majesty wishes to punish us, then we should all be punished together!"

The generals were shouting, when a fierce general named Tu Wanxu suddenly looked at the crowd. He looked like he had drunk quite a bit, his face was flushed, and he was the most excited. "Gentlemen!"

"When Duke Song was framed by those villains, we failed to save him! This led to Duke Song's wrongful death!"

"If we can't even protect Duke Xu now, what kind of warriors are we?! We might as well go home and become butchers!"

"If those scoundrels can kill with their silver tongues, does that mean we can't kill?!"

Tu Wanxu was also one of the old Xianbei nobles. He started fighting at a young age and fought for many years, fighting against the Turks and the Southern Chen Dynasty, making great contributions. He was once Yang Guang's most trusted general, and when Yang Guang was the crown prince, he was Yang Guang's head bodyguard. Logically speaking, with such a close relationship, he should have enjoyed the same treatment as Yuwen Shu. However, when Song Guogong He Ruobi was arrested, Tu Wanxu spoke up for He Ruobi, trying to get the emperor to pardon him, which angered Yang Guang and led to his dismissal from office.

When the expedition began, his identity was restored, and he was allowed to join the army.

After Tu Wanxu finished speaking, some of the generals nodded in agreement, showing their strong approval of his idea.

Yu Zhongwen's hand holding the wine cup was trembling.

The situation is getting increasingly wrong.

Yuwen Shu did not refute Tu Wanxu. He said, "His Majesty is getting up and coming here. It is said that he is going to Liuhe City, which is a few miles away from Liaodong, and he wants us all to go there to pay our respects."

"Now that we're all family here, we can speak freely. But when we get to Liuhe City, please don't say such things again."

"With His Majesty's wisdom, I believe he will not be deceived by those villains! You need not worry too much."

Tu Wanxu silently ate his wine, but his expression was very strange.

Li Xuanba then spoke up, saying, "If the emperor wanted to punish us, he should have come directly to Liaodong City to refute the accusations and investigate the matter thoroughly! But he didn't come directly to Liaodong; instead, he wanted to meet us in Liuhe City. This shows that the sycophants around the emperor are afraid of us and dare not come to the army. They want us to go there alone."

The generals were somewhat surprised to hear his words.

Tu Wanxu asked, "Does the general mean that those villains are going to attack us in Liuhe City?"

Li Xuanba shook his head. "Since those villains are already afraid, they dare not attack us directly anymore. If they were to attack us directly in Liuhe City, would our confidants and followers in Liaodong City just stand by and watch? That's what those villains are afraid of."

"Therefore, they will only try to appease us, using subtle tactics to sow discord and divide us."

"Now that we know the fear in the hearts of those petty people, why worry about anything else?"

Compared to what Tu Wanxu had just said, Li Xuanba's words seemed less aggressive and did not seem to be directed at the emperor. However, his words actually made the atmosphere even more awkward.

Why didn't the emperor come directly to the army?

Fear?

Is he afraid of us?

As soon as this idea came to mind, these warriors who had just emerged from the Northern and Southern Dynasties seemed to have awakened to something. The fierce generals present were either old Xianbei or old Six Garrisons, and there were some things they were very good at.

Even Yuwen Shu was somewhat bewildered at this moment.

He was always afraid of the emperor, fearing that he would die mysteriously like He Ruobi and Gao Jiong.

Therefore, after the incident with Mai Tiezhang, Yuwen Shu only wanted to gain merit and protect himself. After the incident with the Goryeo envoy, he simply didn't want to be punished for the defeat. But now, he thought about it carefully. It seemed that even after he did something outrageous, the emperor hadn't been able to do anything to him.
Yu Zhongwen cleared his throat. "All done."

"We are generals. The affairs of petty people in the court are for the ministers to handle. This has nothing to do with us!"

"The generals are exhausted, so let them go back and rest."

"I still have matters to discuss with Duke Xu."

The generals rose and bowed to Yuwen Shu and Yu Zhongwen before going outside.

Yuwen Shu suddenly spoke up, saying, "Li Xuanba, stay."

Yu Zhongwen was taken aback, wanting to say something, but he held back.

When only the three of them remained, Yu Zhongwen finally spoke.

"Yuwen Shu, Li Xuanba, what exactly are you two trying to do?"

"Trying to rebel?!"

(End of this chapter)